In his fifth year as a New England Patriot, starting in 2010 as a first-round pick out of Rutgers, the cornerback-safety hybrid has been around long enough to tell that the Patriots' defensive backs have always been physical.

The signings of Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner haven’t altered the attitude of the corners and safeties, who, to some people’s surprise, have previously engaged in the brand of intensity noticed during training camp this summer.

“You got a bunch of new guys out there, and everyone wants to write a story about a new secondary, a new D, but you can pull up tape from each year in training camp since I’ve been here, you’ve seen guys out there getting in little scuffles,” McCourty said.

“I remember one year we had three fights in a row, and Bill had us running around the field.”

Unfortunately, there haven’t been any laps for skirmishes in training camp thus far, but Browner has made headlines with his domineering coverage. It’s all within the rules, as long as his press coverage doesn’t go overboard.

Regardless, the way the team, and certainly the secondary, has bonded together in less than two weeks at camp has caught McCourty’s attention.

“Going into our second week, we’re starting to see, not just individual, but a unit formed, so it’s exciting,” he said.

He admits the squad still has to complete the preseason journey in order to be ready to perform to high standards on Sunday, and the first big step to that process begins in Richmond, Virginia, next week.

The Patriots will face the Washington Redskins in joint practices before meeting them in preseason game No.1.

“We’re just a group still learning, a group that’s trying to go out and dominate each day. We’re going to get to go against another team next week and that's always fun,” McCourty said. “You get tired of beating on your own guys.”

The sometimes tedious nature of camp is given new life with the opportunity to battle another hungry NFL squad, and with this reinvigoration, the Patriots can really get an idea of their abilities in relation to their competition.

“That’s when you really see what your team is made of going against another opponent,” McCourty said. “You’re not seeing the same thing over-and-over each day, so I think it’ll be a good test for us as a team.”

While practice on Friday night wasn’t the most competitive leading up to a series of anticipated sessions down south, McCourty was given the opportunity to see several ex-Patriots, a few of which were excellent defensive backs -- Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy and Rodney Harrison.

McCourty recognized their significance in Patriots’ franchise history.

“I just think it’s an honor anytime I get to talk to those guys, whether it be about football or just chatting up on the sideline,” he said. “Those are the guys that laid the platform before us.”